Impact of neonatal early-onset sepsis calculator on antibiotic use within two tertiary healthcare centers.

OBJECTIVE: A recently described neonatal early-onset sepsis (EOS) calculator has the potential to reduce newborn antibiotic exposure but real world data from its use remains sparse. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of applying the calculator to infants treated for EOS.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective review of infants ⩾34 weeks gestational age who received antibiotics at birth. Subjects were compared according to Centers for Disease Control (CDC) 2010 guideline criteria versus the Kaiser Permanente neonatal EOS calculator recommendations.

RESULTS: Of 205 patients, the EOS calculator recommended empiric antibiotics for 23% of those who received therapy, compared with 92% per CDC guidelines (P<0.001). No cases of culture-positive sepsis were identified.

CONCLUSION: Use of the neonatal EOS calculator may dramatically reduce the number of infants who require antibiotics at birth, leading to reduced need for laboratory monitoring and improved antimicrobial stewardship. More safety data is needed.